Our host for this month is Chris Benson.

Our book is "The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post: A Novel," by Allison Pataki.

“Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you.” So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, she was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard.

Marjorie’s journey began gluing cereal boxes in her father’s barn as a young girl. No one could have predicted that C. W. Post’s Cereal Company would grow into the General Foods empire and reshape the American way of life, with Marjorie as its heiress and leading lady. Not content to stay in her prescribed roles of high-society wife, mother, and hostess, Marjorie dared to make history in the process. Before turning thirty she amassed millions, becoming the wealthiest woman in the United States. But it was her life-force, advocacy, passion, and adventurous spirit that led to her stunning legacy.
 
And yet Marjorie’s story, though full of beauty and grandeur was equally marked by challenge and tumult. A wife four times over, Marjorie sought her happily-ever-after with the blue-blooded party boy who could not outrun his demons, the charismatic financier whose charm turned to betrayal, the international diplomat with a dark side, and the bon vivant whose shocking secrets would shake Marjorie and all of society. Marjorie did everything on a grand scale, especially when it came to love

Note: The book is available through the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative at multiple branches; No ebook or audiobook versions are currently available through Libby or Hoopla.